Most of us, if we’re asked, “Are you a leader?” would probably say, “No, not really.”
This article explores the ways in which we’re all leaders.
What It Means To Be A Leader
Are you a leader?
Do you see yourself as a leader?
Let’s start with looking at how a leader is defined.
One of my favorite definitions of a leader is, “to cause to go with oneself.”
This blog is all about helping women to align with their True Self, their True Nature, and to live the authentic life they want. If we think of leadership as causing one to go with your True Self or your True Nature, then ultimately, we’re all leaders. We’re all moving toward the concept of self leadership in which we’re learning to align with and go with our True Nature and our True Self.
The other cool thing about the word leader is it has the word lead in it.
Lead has to do with weight. I love the idea that when we’re in a leadership position, when we’re stepping into our true inner leader or self leader, we’re weighted with our True Self. We’re embodying our True Self and living it.
Another aspect of leadership is the concept of being a way-shower. We’re able to show others a way, perhaps a way they may not have otherwise known.
We could also say a leader is someone who brings forth something, which is really about being able to create.
We’re all here to be creators. The question is, what are we going to create, and what is it we’re being called to create in alignment with our True Self?
Ultimately, everyone is a leader in the moment it’s their turn to lead. Everyone is a leader at all moments in their own life. Everyone is the leading character of their own life story.
What that looks like is remembering you can do something better than I can, and I can do something better than you can. In that moment, when I’m sharing with you or showing you a way to do something that you aren’t aware of, I’m a leader. In the moment, when you’re doing something for me, you’re a leader. We don’t only learn to listen and follow one another, but also lead one another. It’s this beautiful dance of being able to honor leadership in all of us.
Feminine Leadership
When all people are encouraged to step into their leadership role in the moment they’re needed, everyone is valued for their unique gifts, and those unique gifts are given a space to shine and express. This is the way of Feminine Leadership.
We all have the capacity to lead, especially when we’re aligned with our True Self and we’re practicing self leadership.
Ultimately, that’s the most important because there’s a very subtle way in which we lead when connected to our True Self.
When we’re aligned with our True Self, we lead by example.
We show up. We honor our truth. We’re in integrity. We’re being authentic. We’re speaking what we need. We’re not selling our Soul just to get something. We’re also not playing small.
True leadership has a lot to do with my favorite definition of humility, which is being all that you are and nothing you are not.
When we can step into the place of being fully aligned with our True Self, that’s where true leadership comes to play.
That’s what it means to be a self leader.
When I ask you the question, “Are you a leader?” The answer should be “Yes!” for all of us if we’re aligning with our True Self.
Become More Aligned With Your True Self
In what ways are you feeling off or misaligned?
In what ways are you questioning:
How did you get here?
What are you doing with your life?
I invite you to schedule a call with me if you’re struggling and wondering, “How can I do this more authentically?” Maybe you’re a leader in a leadership position, but you’re not feeling satisfied. You’re successful, but feeling dissatisfied. You’re wondering why, and recognizing there’s a part of you that’s not quite aligned with your True Self or True Nature.
Even if you are in a leadership role as defined by our conventional culture, if you start aligning with your True Self, your capacity to lead effectively in organizations, for missions, or causes is going to exponentially increase.
There might be a transitional period of awkwardness and discomfort because getting aligned with our True Self isn’t always easy. Sometimes we have to let go of things we were doing. It’s not comfortable to do things in ways we haven’t been practicing. But when you do, everything begins to change. You become so much more effective in everything you’re doing, and in other things too.
Are You A Leader?
One last note on this concept of leadership is that we underestimate ourselves, and sell ourselves short around the concept of whether or not we’re a leader.
Perhaps you’re leading a family, parenting children, maybe the head of your PTA or volunteer committees, or organizing community potlucks, or who knows what it is you’re doing, but all of those are leadership roles. Those are all moments in which you’re stepping up, sharing your gifts, and other people are taking notice. Other people are following. Other people are going with you, even just to organize a movie date with a friend.
If you’re the one stepping in to do that with your initiative, your gifts, your creative expression, then you are a leader.
Don’t sell yourself short.
Start to understand that some of those subtle moments are the moments in which you’re naturally stepping into your True Self, because it’s just who you are. It’s just part of what you do.
In challenging relationships we might have, some people are really good at leading in a relationship. They’re the ones who know how to have a missing conversation that’s not easy to have. That’s where they can step up and be the leader and not expect other people or everyone to know how to do that. Whereas other people might be really good at leading in another way. Maybe they’re amazing at organizing something.
We need to honor various forms and styles of leadership, and we can practice leadership in all kinds of domains of life.
We need to acknowledge our capacity to lead in the domains we’re naturally good at leading in.
Don’t sell yourself short. Honor the leader within you. Consider the question of whether or not you’re aligning with your True Self and in your True Nature in order to be the leader you’re here to be.
For a video version of, Leadership Starts With Self-Leadership. Are You a Leader?, watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2kKk3EsPa8
